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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24283813">The Ending Plague</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hirusen/pseuds/hirusen'>hirusen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Apocalypse, Blood and Violence, Curiosity, Dark Magic, End of Humanity, Falling In Love, Getting to Know Each Other, Gore, M/M, Magic-Users, Masks, Medical Examination, Medicine, Non-Human Humanoid Society, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plague, Plague Doctor(s), Plague Immunity, Protectiveness, SCP Foundation mentioned, Survival Horror, Tags Are Hard, Trust Issues, Watching Someone Sleep</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:40:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,364</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24283813</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hirusen/pseuds/hirusen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>With humanity on its last legs, his people doubted any of them would survive, until he found someone he couldn't believe existed.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Male Human Character/Original Male Non-Human Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Inspection</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the course of only three months, more than a third of humanity's global population were infected with what the humans are calling <em>Noctis Asthenia Contulis</em> or the 'Nether Virus'. While it's not what his people call it, they weren't wrong with the nickname; this plague spreads more actively in its host at night, though it's constantly evolving and mutating which is making it difficult for the human doctors and researchers to find a temporary vaccine to delay the spread. When the plague first began, there was no signs that anything could be wrong; those signs only came after it infected 60,000 people all around the world.</p><p>Sudden lack of sleep or energy, increased outbursts of anger or yelling, fingernails turning from pink to a light red shade, and teeth growing sharp enough that the host merely sliding their tongue over a tooth will cause it to be cut no matter which tooth.</p><p>Of course, by the time these signs show, it's already too late. Hours later, they turn into aggressive individuals who seek out non-infected humans and bite as much of their exposed skin as they can; saliva getting into the body by any means is the most effective way for the plague to spread. Sometimes, the infected get unfortunately lucky and find a carrier; these are the most dangerous people at the moment. They show no signs at all that they have the plague and what's worse is that, if the person was attacked while alone, they will quickly hide and treat the injuries they received and never reveal that they're infected, thus spreading it more quickly to those who are not.</p><p>That's where his people have come in.</p><p>The foundation is aware of them, but they haven't bothered or even attempted to try and contain them. They, unlike many others they have given their aid to, understand what they are capable of and see the benefit of being allowed to freely do what they do.</p><p>Their current objective is the find non-infected humans, take them to one of their facilities, and infect them. The goal is to find all of the carriers and isolate them until they can develop a cure for the Nether Virus.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Discovery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"W-What the hell?" The man stumbled back, fear soaking into every pore of his skin as five people stare him down, rage in their eyes. "Did you really think that we wouldn't find out, Kolbien?" He backed up a step slowly, sensing that there were people behind him too. "Wh-What do you mean?" But his friend just smirked wide, all teeth and a cold, almost hungry look in his eyes.</p>
<p>Footsteps, fast and calm, snapped everyone's attention to them. Kolbien wasn't going to lie, he paled a little at what he saw.</p>
<p>A plague doctor.</p>
<p>At first, he just thought it was how some people were handling the outbreak, but he knows now that these are REAL plague doctors who are doing what they can to slow the spread of the plague. The two people that were behind him quickly scurried over to his friend and the four other strangers, all of their eyes narrowing onto the doctor as he strode close to Kolbien.</p>
<p>The first thing he noticed was the stereotypical white beak mask people always associate with plague doctors. They wore some of the same clothing as the historical images and modern recreations depict them to have: the black boots, the gloves with the clawed fingertips, the black top hat. But besides that, this doctor's outfit was more modern with black jeans, a decorative hip pouch that was embroidered with gold along the edges, a symbol he didn't recognize settle in the center of the flap, a black long-sleeve shirt with a leather vest over it, and a hood that could cover their head resting at their shoulders, though it was hard to tell just where or what the hood was attached to.</p>
<p>"Pardon the intrusion, but I'm afraid that I must take him away." The man spoke with a silvery voice, his hand landing on Kolbien's shoulder. "What? He infected?" "...No... But you are." Suddenly, his friend and the group with him lashed out, rushing like bulls towards them, but the doctor didn't even flinch. Kolbien didn't see what happened, he had squeezed his eyes shut and prayed he'd live, but he glanced back when a chorus of grunts and groans echoed through the area; several of them were bleeding now, their anger more visible on their faces now.</p>
<p>"If you value your life, I suggest staying down." The man threatened and the group seemed to listen, Kolbien almost in a daze as the plague doctor escorted him away.</p>
<hr/>
<p>He wasn't sure if he should speak; they've been walking for a long while now, Kolbien keeping his eyes trained on the man who guided him along, trying to ignore how the clawed tips of his gloves slightly dug into his back.</p>
<p>Another one of the infected sprung out from the bushes, clearly more lost to the infection than the first group, but then Kolbien saw just how the doctor managed to defend him.</p>
<p>He raised his hand, something barely visible coiling up his arm and around his hand, and then he pushed his hand towards the infected without seeming to look towards it; the person was flung what looked like dozens of meters away from them, the doctor carefully gripping his arm and hurrying him along. "The infected will be more eager to get their teeth on you now; they know seeing my people means that an innocent is nearby." The doctor explained, but Kolbien was still confused.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Eventually, he and the human he had found reached the facility he resided in; looked like a standard military facility and it's been quite useful so far. "Come, don't be shy." He gestured for the human to go in first, still smelling and seeing the concern, but didn't put up a fight which was good. Some of the others had rather difficult patients to deal with.</p>
<p>"Ah, welcome back." Ashinar, who was dressed similarly to him only with a crimson mask, greeted as she took in his patient. "He's not infected?" "No, but..." She sighed as well. He always hated this part; the humans they have here don't have full trust in them anymore after this, and even then many of them only place their trust in their doctor. "What is it? What's wrong?" <em>Oh dear, he's a curious one.</em> Don't get him wrong, he loved human curiosity and the paths of thinking it leads them down, but at the moment, this was not a good time to be such way.</p>
<p>"...Forgive me, dear, but I have to be unkind to you for a moment." He then gripped the man's arm tightly and rushed not dragged (strange) him to the public exam room. Easily, he thrusted the human onto the bed in the room and used his magic to set the binds on his ankles and wrists. The fear spiked through the man, as it always does when they have to do this, and he heard as the human fruitlessly struggled against his bindings. Carefully pulling the vial off of the shelf, he watch as the horror of what was actually happening crossed the human's face.</p>
<p>"No... No, please don't do this!" "I have to, I apologize." He replied as he steadily let the tip of the needle pierce into the draw point, filling the syringe a quarter full, before withdrawing it and moving to stand beside the human. He tried to wiggle away, but he quickly grabbed onto his arm to keep the limb still and calmly injected him with a condensed form of the plague. It was the only way to know for sure that this man was a carrier, and if he wasn't...at least he could make it quick and painless.</p>
<p>A minute passed but...he was showing no signs that he's a carrier; his scent didn't change at all.</p>
<p><em>...No. It's not possible.</em> His people didn't believe any of the human race would survive. Yet here was the man that would.</p>
<p>The only one he's found who was immune.</p>
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